DFA Secretary del Rosario has joined Senator Enrile and Speaker Belmonte in advocating the removal of the restrictive provisions of the 1987 Constitution and some voices in the CBCP. They are in the process of seeking the approval and support of the President who has voiced his outright rejection of charter change.
The support of the President is critical because he can:
1- Veto any appropriations related to charter change;
2 – Exclude funds for charter change in the budget.
They face a formidable lobby of protectionist landholders and business owners and their symbiont – the “progressive” bloc which is driven by the discontent against the high income inequality and widespread poverty, hunger, and joblessness.
President Aquino’s believes that nobody can love the Philippines and the Filipinos, except Filipinos.
Really? Do Filipinos have a monopoly of loving and caring for the Philippines and Filipinos? Hmmmm… Have you looked out around lately? How do Pinoys treat each other? How many foreigners have died serving the poor and the down-trodden? How many foreigners provide decent wages for their workers? Do Filipino companies even know what the meaning of decent means?
The President’s men are out deliberating the merits of charter change to remove the protectionist provisions.
There will be a lot of myths to slay. For instance, the open and developed economies still remain sovereign over their territories. Sure there are mischievous attempts to light a tinder box in the region – what has prevented that from happening is the fact that we trade with China and it is to our mutual benefit that this be resolved peacefully in a manner that is acceptable. What’s not being said is that our trade with China has served as a lubricant in this delicate dance of diplomacy and geopolitics.
The President has yet to see that Filipinos and foreigners alike can love the Philippines and Filipinos with the same intensity. Yes – we’ve had serious issues with foreign occupiers before – and those fears have been made to bear upon us to make us scared of allowing the entry of foreigners to live, work, go to school, shop, marry, own property, own a business – provide a job, provide professional services to Filipinos. This prevailing view that foreigners are evil considering that we invite foreigners to visit the Philippines because it’s more fun here is a bit disconcerting. Filipinos and foreigners alike have an equal capacity to do harm or to do good.
Protectionism treats our fellow human being as a hostile predator or a clueless piece of mutton to be devoured by the wolves.
Free and open markets treats our fellow human beings as equal partners in creation, of doing good, of making the Philippines even better than it has ever dreamed.
The successes of Filipinos in the open and competitive markets overseas, the BPO call centers in our corporate centers, should tell our lawmakers that Filipinos are ready to be part of humanity – and not to be “insulated” from it. Inasmuch as we respect our roots, it should not cripple us from expanding and growing mighty forests whether at home or abroad.
The President’s conservatism is understandable as he draws support from a political base that is protectionist and pro-welfare state.
This question of charter change will always re-surface with every administration because as the inefficiencies are traced from different entry points, they always end up in the economic provisions whose impact cascades into all sectors of the economy – the food you eat, the electricity in your house, the movies that you watch, the planes that you ride, the phones that you use, the clothes that you wear – the choices denied to Filipinos are available to them in foreign countries.
Aren’t we treating our countrymen like second class citizens? Do our countrymen really deserve the same usual choices of Meralco, Globe, PLDT, ABS-CBN, San Miguel, SM, BPI, Petron for generations to come? Will they ever match the service levels of South Korea’s broadband infrastructure with forty companies competing as of last count.
Each Filipino President has a defining moment. The recent ones ranged from disastrous to brief glimmers and then a return to the usual blight of business as usual. I don’t know if Pres Aquino will have his Road to Damascus Moment nope – not the one facing Assad. That was terrible of me. How about – I hope President Aquino will have a Eureka moment.
If there were to be one – this should be it. Pres Aquino in cooperation with Senator Enrile and Speaker Belmonte – and the citizens of the Philippines of this generation have the historic opportunity to change the economic landscape of the Philippines and reverse the diaspora of its best and brightest and spread the fruits of economic growth for every Filipino citizen – and not just a select few forty people who make billions while 89 million are content can’t even afford the monthly car payments for a Ford Focus. Yes, we are insulating the Philippines from the busts of the world – but we are also isolating it from the booms of the world.
Charice Pempengco, Lea Salonga, Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino sailors who man the world’s commercial fleets, the small Fil-am store owners have shown that Filipinos can not only survive in conditions of competition – but they can also step up to it and thrive in it. Each and every Filipino – and every human being for that matter has capacity for dastardliness – and greatness. The choice boils down to each individual regardless of sex, gender, age, physical capacity, and nationality. Let us not be a party to killing dreams but making them bloom instead.
And how do we define “loving” and “caring” in the first place? Do we have our definitions right? Is it “loving” and “caring” to keep citizens poor, jobless. and hungry? How can we be “hospitable” and known for “hospitality” if we look at foreigners as either predators or prey and not as fellow human beings who have the same needs, aspirations, dreams, and liberties as we do.
President Aquino has a historic opportunity to take ownership of bringing this much needed change happen. Cory is not known for her economic ability – and nor is Noynoy. But he still has four more years to really make things happen, redefine himself, and put his own stamp on the Aquino legacy.
The President who is able to remove the economic restrictions will not have only gained a special place in the history of the Philippines – he will have provided each and every Filipino a better chance at life – at helping individuals combat poverty, starting with one’s own. Then De Quiros can rave that Aquino isn’t just an Aragorn but he is also a Moses.
We can’t give what we don’t have. Charity begins at home. Let us not just be kind to others but to ourselves too. Jobs – not welfare. Trade – not aid. Plough shares – not swords. Food – not bullets.
The alternative of course is the usual subsidies, scams, dramas, privilege speeches, long lines in foreign embassies. Four more years of same o same o isn’t really much of a policy – nor is it a change in our drab lives.
Aquino is every inch of us – we are Aquino, Aquino is us.
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